What Should I Avoid Saying During a DUI Stop?

By Jonathan Blecher on March 14, 2019

By their nature, traffic stops, especially DUI stops are highly-stressful events that tend to cause a racing heart, faster breathing, nervousness, and perhaps no inner monologue. Because people are anxious during DUI stops, they have a habit of saying things they shouldn’t. Here’s a list of what NOT to say during a DUI stop.

1. “I’ve driven after drinking way more alcohol before!”

So, your blood alcohol content (BAC) is lower than it has been during your other DUI escapades? That’s not going to go over well with the police officer, or in court. At the same time, don’t say, “I’m good to drive, I have a really high tolerance!” If you’ve drove after drinking before, please keep it to yourself.

2. “So… you want my phone number?”

It doesn’t matter how good looking the officer is, flirting is not going to get you out of a DUI arrest. At the most, it will end up as an
amusing paragraph in your police report and the officers could laugh about it back at the station. You may think you’re being witty, but it’s going to be recorded for the prosecutor, the judge, and perhaps a jury.

3. “I’m less drunk than my passenger!”

So, you’ve had less to drink than your passenger? Saying that doesn’t help the situation. It is possible that you are not okay to drive either. Being “less drunk” than your passenger isn’t a plausible defense.

4. “I may be buzzed, but I’m not drunk.”

Not going to work. As this commercial says, “Buzzed driving is drunk driving.”

5. “Not even a sober person can pass these tests!”

Okay, there may be a lot of truth to that statement, but when you say that, you’re implying that you’re NOT sober.

6. “You had no reason to pull me over.”

The officer may have conducted an illegal traffic stop, meaning they may not have had a valid reason to pull you over, but it’s
better to save the argument for your DUI defense attorney later. If you start arguing with the officer, he or she may describe you as combative, belligerent, argumentative, or uncooperative in the police report and such behavior will not help your case.

7.
“I know the Chief of Police.”

Name-dropping high ranking police or politicians won’t get you very far with 99% of police officers. In fact, dropping a name will make the officer dot every “I” and cross every “T”.

I hope this post was insightful. If you’re facing DUI charges, contact my Miami DUI defense firm to schedule a free case evaluation.